Authorities are treating the sightings as a serious security and environmental matter, putting coastal villages on alert and intensifying patrolling on beaches.
A merchant vessel, with around 20 Indian crew, was hit by a suspected drone about 217 nautical miles off the Porbandar coast in the Arabian Sea on Saturday but there was no report of any casualties in the incident, Indian military sources and a maritime security agency said.
China calls the shoal Huangyan Dao. China has already deployed some of its biggest CCG vessels in the area to assert its claims.
Pakistani authorities have arrested 48 Indian fishermen and seized eight boats on charges of illegally fishing in the country's territorial waters, an official spokesman said on Friday. The Maritime Security Agency arrested the Indian fishermen late on Thursday night.
The National Security Strategy document should flag all major issues concerning security strategy and provide guidelines to concerned departments to work out suitable action plans. Since the global and regional geopolitical canvas is dynamic, the NSS document should be deliberated at length before formulation and should be reviewed periodically, recommends Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
India's Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi has stated that India is fully aware of China's increasing presence in the Indian Ocean Region, with 6-8 Chinese naval ships present at any given time. Admiral Tripathi emphasized that India knows "who goes where", suggesting strong maritime domain awareness, and has not allowed China to operate in areas of Indian interest. He also highlighted China's supply of maritime equipment to Pakistan, including submarines, which India is actively addressing to ensure its maritime security and trade.
Indian Navy on Wednesday said its ships and aircraft remain 'mission deployed' for maintaining enhanced surveillance and undertaking maritime security operations.
The era where nations thrived through rigid alignments is giving way to an age where the connective State defines power. For India, that era has arrived, points out Dr Nishakant Ojha.
Pakistan has arrested 17 Indian fishermen and confiscated their three boats for allegedly straying into the country's territorial waters.
The Indian Navy has deployed task groups comprising frontline destroyers and frigates in the central and north Arabian Sea and augmented its force levels in the region to undertake maritime security operations in view of recent attacks on commercial vessels in key shipping lanes.
Pakistan Maritime Security Agency on Saturday apprehended 18 fishermen from Gujarat along with their three boats near Jakhau port off the state coast, an office-bearer of a fishermen association claimed.
The Indian Coast Guard has evacuated a Chinese national from a Panama-flagged research vessel on the Arabian Sea after he suffered a heart attack, the maritime security agency said in a statement on Thursday.
On the sixth anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks, the government said the overall coastal and maritime security along the entire coast is 'much stronger than before' as several steps have been taken in this direction.
It is learnt that Russia is not sending any military platform to exercise and there is no clarity yet on whether it will depute any delegation for the event.
India will kickstart on Tuesday a two-day multi-agency military exercise covering the country's 7,516 km-long coastline and exclusive economic zone with the twin aim of checking the preparedness of various agencies to deal with any eventualities and bolster overall maritime security, officials said.
She, however, refused to disclose the exact figure of the Indian soldiers stationed in the Maldives, stating the details would be shared at a later date, Sun.mv news portal reported.
Indian Navy's elite marine commandos on Friday rescued 21 crew members including 15 Indians from a bulk carrier in the North Arabian Sea and sanitised it in a swift operation while responding to an attempted hijacking of the Liberian-flagged vessel by around five-six armed personnel.
The Indian fishermen will be presented before a judicial magistrate on Thursday and then sent to jail. The latest arrests come at a time when tensions between the two countries are escalating over various issues.
Sea Vigil-22 will cover the country's 7,516 km-long coastline and exclusive economic zone with the twin aim of checking preparedness of various agencies to deal with any eventualities and bolster overall maritime security.
Indian Navy's mission deployed platforms responded swiftly to a maritime incident in the Arabian Sea involving the hijacking on board a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier, a Navy spokesperson said.
The navy received information about the vessel, responded to the distress call and the Pakistan Maritime Information Centre requested a nearby merchant ship "MT KRUIBEKE" to provide necessary assistance to the stranded crew of the Indian vessel.
A joint operation by anti-narcotics agencies led to the seizure of about 700 kg of drugs and the arrest of eight Iranian nationals from Indian territorial waters off the Gujarat coast around Porbandar on Friday.
The senior diplomat on Thursday visited the Indian Coast Guard Headquarters (West) to express gratitude to the maritime security agency for saving Chinese mariners over the past two years, an official statement said.
Pakistan's maritime security agency on Thursday arrested 58 Indian fishermen after they allegedly strayed into the country's territorial waters.
The principal director of plans, policy, and resources management for the Maldives National Defence Force, Colonel Ahmed Mujuthaba Mohamed said that discussions are underway for withdrawing Indian troops from the Maldives.
In the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday that the government has decided to set up a Federal Investigation Agency, strengthen air and maritime security and create four National Security Group hubs in various parts of the country.
US strikes on Iran's three main nuclear facilities have once again raised concerns that Tehran might shut down the Strait of Hormuz - one of the world's most critical chokepoints, through which a fifth of global oil and gas supply flows.
The overnight operation in the Arabian Sea was carried out in coordination with the Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad and the Narcotics Control Bureau, it said.
De-centralised execution should drive the operational concept and support military strategy, under a unified command architecture. Enablers and technology need to be positioned first for such an activity to be undertaken, recommends Lieutenant General Anil Chait (retd).
The 'mediation' by the United States from behind the scene on the diplomatic track appears to be once again working, which calls on both Delhi and Islamabad to show restraint and pull back from a military confrontation, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Witkoff confirmed that while progress had been made, there were still unresolved details that would be addressed during the upcoming talks.
At least 29 Indian fishermen were on Saturday arrested by Pakistani authorities for allegedly entering the country's territorial waters. The fishermen were arrested by the Maritime Security Agency officials, who also confiscated their five boats during a routine patrol.
The Indian Coast Guard on Friday seized a Pakistani boat and arrested seven fishermen for crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line near Jamnagar.
India on Monday summoned a senior diplomat of the Pakistan high commission and lodged a strong protest over the killing of an 'innocent' Indian fisherman by the Pakistani side, official sources said.
Pakistani authorities have arrested 11 Indian fishermen and seized their two boats for allegedly violating the country's maritime boundary, officials said on Sunday.
'We need to raise the costs and consequences for Pakistan. It is long overdue. Our initial surgical strike was effective for about six months. Then, the Balakot strike provided a deterrent for perhaps two to three years. But we cannot operate under the assumption that such limited responses will suffice for decades to come.'
Pakistani authorities have arrested 26 Indian fishermen for allegedly violating the country's maritime boundary, an official spokesman said on Thursday. The fishermen were apprehended with six boats late Wednesday night for violating Pakistan's territorial waters, a spokesman from the Maritime Security Agency said.
Pakistani Marine Security Agency has arrested an Indian fisherman from the Arabian sea and released the nine others accompanying him, a senior official of the National Fish Forum said Wednesday.
The Coast Guard has secured the release of 72 Indian fishermen from the custody of Pakistan Maritime Security Agency, which had held them in the Arabian sea off Jakhau coast since Friday.
Pakistani authorities have arrested nine Indian fishermen and seized five boats on charges of illegally fishing in the country's waters, officials said on Thursday.
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